BNSF Railway’s carload network

BNSF-carload-network

This Map of the Month appeared in the January 2004 issue of  Trains. Al first glance, this looks like the route map of an airline. In reality, it’s BNSF Railway’s merchandise freight traffic network (i.e., cars not moving in unit trains from one common origin to one destination). It’s no coincidence they look the same, for […]

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Snowsheds on BNSF’s Marias Pass

BNSF snowsheds on Maris pass map image

Great Northern Railway’s St. Paul, Minn.-Seattle transcontinental main line, now part of BNSF Railway, was built in the early 1890s as the northernmost such route in the United States, crossing the Continental Divide in the Lewis Range at Marias Pass, 5,213 feet above sea level. The Great Bear Wilderness in Lewis and Clark National Forest […]

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Western mainline tonnage growth: 1979 to 2001

Western-growth

This Map of the Month was featured in the June 2003 issue of  Trains magazine. We know railroads experienced a lot of traffic growth since they were deregulated in 1980, but where? And more importantly, which lines did better or worse than average? This map of western main lines compares the growth rate in tonnage […]

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New products for March 29, 2012

Classic Metal Works HO scale 1953 Ford Sedan courier cars

HO Scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division F3A and B diesel locomotives. New paint scheme: Denver & Rio Grande (passenger scheme). Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, separately applied prototype-specific details, and magnetic knuckle couplers. A unit: Direct-current model, $169.98; with SoundTraxx Digital Command Control sound decoder, $269.98. A-B set: DC models, $309.98; with DCC and sound, […]

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Video: Bowser Trains HO scale Alco C-630M diesel locomotive

Bowser train

This HO scale Alco C-630M diesel locomotive model from Bowser Trains features a SoundTraxx Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder. See and hear this locomotive as it hauls a freight train through Bay Junction on the Model Railroader club layout, the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy. […]

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May 2012 Trains Express PDF download

trpdf060

The Western Maryland, or “Wild Mary” as it was known to its many fans, was a a tenacious regional railroad, running west from Baltimore to the mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It was known for its fast freights, coal traffic, and the iconic Helmstetter’s Curve. Download this month’s Trains Express PDF package at the […]

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Atlas HO scale trash flatcar

Atlas HO scale trash flatcar

Atlas HO scale trash flatcar Modern era HO modelers can now add a trash train to their operating scheme with this flatcar and containers from Atlas Model Railroad Co. The prototype. Specialized 85-foot flatcars and high-cube 20-foot containers have been hauling trainloads of solid waste since the 1980s. This railroad business came from opposition to […]

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Bowser HO scale C-630M diesel locomotive

Bowser HO scale C-630 diesel locomotive

Bowser HO scale C-630 diesel locomotive Modelers of Canadian roads in HO scale will be pleased with Bowser’s latest Executive Line locomotive release. The manufacturer has modified its Alco C-630 model with prototypically accurate details to represent C-630M locomotives built by Montreal Locomotive Works, Alco’s Canadian division. The M designation indicated that the engine had […]

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